JanetC

Hi Dody! I'm pretty new too. I know you're a ways out from banding, but what's really helped me was the "Feb bandster" thread over on the support board. We were all new to the band together. I find that when I see "my buds" posting elsewhere I feel a connection to them. Perhaps you could get in on the "Non-banded folks unite" thread & find some to hang & chat with. Then when you do get banded, folks around that time will be a natural connection for you as well. Yeah, I still feel lost... I'd love to be in the "early in" crowd, lol, but I can't move time back so I can start with them. I'm trusting that in time I'll know all the personalities behind the posts & be able to feel like friends with them too! Anyway, all that to say, "Welcome!" And thanks for yelling!

Wow, that's awesome!! Keep it up & congrats! Janet

What an awesome, amazing victory!! Congrats & enjoy the slopes! :confused:

I haven't noticed hiccups, lol, but I have these pitiful little burps that are plentiful & don't seem to do much, lol. Mikey laughs at me, they're so wimpy! I'm glad you can do half days! Sounds like you've got a good boss. :confused: I'm afraid to fail too. And this post-op healing period is really tough mentally. We're not supposed to be thinking diet & weight loss... we underwent major surgery, but won't REALLY see results until we get a good fill. I don't wanna wait!!! Wah!!! **Sigh** LOL, sometimes I'm so childish! :confused: Have a quiet, relaxing day!

8 pounds is awesome!! Doc's just don't understand... and expect us all to follow some miracle graph, lol. :confused: Personally, if the scale stops moving upwards, it's a miracle! :confused: I'm with ya'll on the brain transplant... I need one badly!

LOL, thanks for the pats. :confused: Ok, I'll hang in there, hehe. After analyzing my drinking with Mikey last night (aren't husbands great!), we've decided that I "gulp" rather then "sip". So I got a smaller glass & am working on it. I also dropped myself back to liquids... our post-op diet plan got us to mushies really fast, perhaps I wasn't ready. We'll see if that doesn't clear it up. Thanks for all the help! Surgeons should really pay the folks on LBT! Ya'll kept me from calling him in tears! :confused:

Go Lou with the weight loss, woohoo!! :confused: I gave up the mashed potatoes & went back to liquid yesterday, lol. It seems to help the gas pains somewhat. I can't keep taking 3 hours to moan & groan after eating / drinking, lol! I'll try again in a couple of days & maybe more of the gas will have cleared out. I wish there was a way to know that BEFORE I made myself hurt! My lifeline: Nature's Best Isopure Zero Carb Ready-To-Drink clear Protein drinks. 40g protein, 0g carb or fat... and CLEAR!! Ok, they taste like unsweetened Kool-Aid with an aftertaste like mud, lol, but they are helping me feel fuller. (Nope, they don't pay me for marketing, lol, but they should!!) All in all I'm still glad I did it... can't wait to get over the swelling & gas & get filled & on the way! And aren't the scars incredible? Can't believe how fast they're healing!! (My 15-year-old scars don't look as good!) (( Hugs!! )) to all those healing Febsters! We're gonna make it! (Yep, I'm taking it on faith! :confused:)

Congrats!! That sounds like an awesome dress! :confused:

Congrats to both of you!! Great NSV!! Color me jealous! :confused:

I'm so glad you're feeling better! Keep us posted! :confused:

Mae's a great site to read, if you're just looking for a long-term success story: http://www.myagb.homestead.com/index.html -- she makes me excited! If you want advice from someone banded for a long time, perhaps start a thread "Looking for advice from someone banded 2+ years ago" or "Experienced bandster advice needed". They're out there, you just have to find 'em! :confused: I've seen some that are 5+ years, I think one was 10 (don't quote me on that). There's a bunch that are 2+ years. When you're looking at someone's post, check out their signature... it often has their band date (mine is 10 days ago, lol). :confused: And in the top right corner of the name portion of their post is their join date... some have been hanging out here a LONG time! Good luck!

Wow, how awesome to be able to tackle the food demon so young!! She was gorgeous for homecoming -- I bet she keeps you hopping! Hope her surgery goes smoothly & that she transitions to band-life smoothly. How exciting!! Congrats!

That's AWESOME Nykee!! Too cool!! :confused: Congrats on the goal, on reaching it & on your bandiversary!! Woohooo!!

I'm with ya Sunta!! The pain is the pits! We weren't allowed "cloudy" liquids for a couple of days: just broth, tea, fruit juice & Water. (I "cheated" with clear Protein drinks.) You might try some warm broth or tea to get stuff to relax a little. Mikey read an article to me yesterday about chewing gum after surgery to help get the GI track to flowing. I know, I know, gum is a no-no with the band... but if you don't swallow it you should be ok. I'm giving it a try tonight! That's about it for my "wisdom". I'm in the pain boat with you, lol, I just posted about the same thing! :confused: Hang in there & hopefully we'll come out on the other side soon! (( HUGS!!! ))

Thanks Alex! I've stopped the eating & drinking, lol. I think I can honestly say that this is the first time in my life that I've been too scared to eat or drink, lol. It HURT! But my stomach's growling... **sigh** I've always been a straw user (sensitive teeth)... maybe I'll ignore my doc's hatred of 'em & give it a try! Thanks for the kind words! :confused:

Ok, yeah, I'm a n00b. But I'm only 9 days post-op, with zero fill. I'm not expecting to feel any restriction, other then possibly swelling. I've been buzzing along, doing great, up to mashed potatoes, everything's peachie keen. Then yesterday I had THE WORST gas pain yet... could not talk it hurt so bad. It felt like someone was sitting on my chest, compressing my heart. I've been having the left-shoulder pain off & on & random bouts of "moving gas", but this whole chest thing was new. I walked some, but literally couldn't breathe, so laid down with my handy heating pad (and the inevitable Gas-X) again. It passed after a while... not sure how long (I went to sleep). Today the same thing happened, so I started looking for a trend. The pain **seems** to come about 15 min after I start drinking Water. On to the questions: Has anyone else ever experienced something like this? Is it possible that I'm swallowing air while drinking? (I've been monitoring my drinking and am now so paranoid that I spill more then I drink, lol.) Any ideas of how to drink without adding air? Is this what restriction feels like? When restricted, do you have to limit the amount of a liquid per sitting? If this is just gas from the operation... um... I'm not sure what I'm asking, but will this get better???? I'm game to modify my life (I signed up for this, after all), but it's WATER!! To be honest, I'm freaking out a bit. I mean, it's just water! I'm fine with mashed potatoes, for goodness sake! It's gotta be something I'm doing when drinking. **Sigh** I guess I'm basically looking for a pat on the back & a "it'll be ok"... 'cuz at the moment I'm not so sure. Thanks!

That's awesome!! Keep up the great work!! :couch2:

The tall, skinny one that got cut could really sing, imho. I was sad to see him go. Bobby was a great entertainer, but I was with the judges... his voice wasn't all that. But I loved his attitude! I'm afraid I'd vote for the bad attitudes to leave, good or bad singers, lol. Yeah, Brenna needs to get the boot, lol. Bring the claws back, pft! For the girls, Paris, Lisa & the girl who sang last (sad that I don't know her name yet, lol). Man they can sing!!! And the little guy, lol, he looks 12 to me. He's sooo adorable! But man you hit the nail on the head... A C E all the way. :couch2: Wow, that smile!!

Hubby & I are in Keller atm (just moved from Trophy Club, downtown Dallas before that). We really should have a monthly / quarterly / yearly DFW get-together!

Welcome new Feb bandsters!! Good to see us still popping up! How are the gas pains doing? They're still kicking my heinie!! The worst is that my hubby got his band 2 days prior to me... and is rocking it. Next to ZERO pain **sigh**. I try not to compare... lol :couch2: I'm now officially sick of mashed potatoes. Can't wait for the next stage!! Happy Friday everyone!!

Awesome NSV!! Congrats!

So ProNutra sounds seriously cool -- I'd love my mother to try it (she's older & has skin issues & supplements her Protein a lot). How on earth do you buy it? The only site I've found that sells it sells it by the case only & you have to have an MD recommendation. Augh!! :couch2: I personally love Nature's Best Isopure Zero Carb stuff (ok, not the BEST taste... but amazing levels of whey protein! And not so awful I avoid it, lol.) My favorite shopping site (I find the stuff on it, then do web searches based on the name / manufacturer: http://store.bariatriceating.com/ Jan

Welcome to band-land. The local gas remedies are: Gas-X, walking as much as possible & heating pads. I've found tea to be a relaxing addition to that list. Remember that they pumped you full of CO2 & that only time will take care of it (go go osmosis!!) The pains can last a long time... up to 6 weeks, or so I've heard. I can vouch for the first 9 days, lol. **sigh** I have the port pain as well. My surgeon said to not worry, that incision was physically larger (i.e. cut more of the muscle) & then the port was sutured to a muscle, which can also feel like a "stitch from running" until you adjust to it. When I push lightly I can feel the extra swelling. I'm personally paranoid about the port pain, since for some people in some situations (stress that SOMETIMES) it can be a symptom of a port infection. So I'm watching it, but I'm not panicked quite yet... trusting my surgeon. But if it has a sudden rise in temperature or I see puss, I'll be on the phone to my doc faster then anything!! All in all I can't believe I'm doing this well 9 days out from major surgery. This new-fangled surgery rocks!! P.S. If you don't get a lot of replies, edit your first post & change the "test" to "new to LBT". I know I ignored the "test" for a while, then I had to peek. :couch2: Congrats on your banding & welcome to the journey!! Jan

Ok, so we had to go to our group therapy session & MISSED THE RESULTS!!! Who got voted off? It's killing me! I had it set to tape, but forgot to put a tape in... augh!! :help: Jan

I think the worry is normal in the beginning. New toy & all that. At least I hope that's it! 'Cuz I'm worried every second of every day! (Ok, it's not THAT bad... just close!) I've heard rumors that if you don't eat for 3 hours before laying down you'll be looser / hungrier in the morning. I've been trying to hold to that & I wake up starving. Of course I'm not restricted either, lol, so maybe I'm just not eating enough! As for the cup... if you're over-satisfied, cut back. If you're not satisfied enough, add to it. If you can learn to feel your body now... you'll be ahead of the game later when you're restricted!! I'm taking these 6 weeks off from dieting (except for surgeon's orders). I'm trying to just focus on healing & listening to my body & not worry about the scale. I know that route isn't for everyone... but so far so good! Congrats on the 1 month!!